Saturday, May 30, 2015

Maroon 5

On September 2, 2014, Interscope Records will release V – the new album by Maroon 5. True to its title, V represents the fifth full-length studio effort from the Grammy Award winning superstar band. Considering that career benchmark, Maroon 5’s latest provides a sonic summation of the group’s journey to date – capturing the essence of the earliest M5 hits through to their most recent successes, as well as providing a picture of its artistic growth into the future.

Bringing it all back home, V features the return of M5’s original keyboardist Jesse Carmichael to the fold, rejoining frontman Adam Levine, guitarist James Valentine, bassist Mickey Madden, drummer/percussionist Matt Flynn, and keyboardist PJ Morton after a two-year hiatus. V also builds on the momentum of the most successful period in M5’s history, re-teaming the band with previous collaborators and featuring some unexpected new friends, too.

Maroon 5 has always proven popular since the release of the band’s debut album – 2002’s five-times-platinum Songs About Jane, featuring classic M5 hits like “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved” that forged its pioneering template of rock, pop and R&B. In 2011, Maroon 5 built on the momentum of two unlikely forces colliding: the massive exposure brought by Levine’s status as a host of the smash TV series The Voice, and the release of “Moves Like Jagger,” which returned M5 to the top 10 after a four-year break. An international #1 single, “Moves Like Jagger” became a pop-culture phenomenon – becoming not just Maroon 5’s biggest hit, but one of the best-selling singles of all time, selling over 14 million copies. That triumph was followed up with yet another win, Maroon 5’s 2012 album Overexposed, which only made the group bigger. Overexposed unleashed a foursome of top 10 hit singles – “Payphone,” “Daylight,” “Love Somebody,” and “One More Night” – the latter of which spent nine weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, setting a record for the band.

For V, Maroon 5 has created a set of irresistible pop juggernauts raising the band’s sound to the next level. V’s lead-off single “Maps” finds Maroon 5 taking the reggae-influenced vibes the group honed on Overexposed hits like “One More Night” to new heights, via an infectious pop-rock meditation on longing and obsession (“I was there for you in your darkest times/I was there for you in your darkest nights”), where Levine’s soulful ,elastic falsetto recalls none other than one of his biggest inspirations, Sting and The Police. It also reteams the songwriting collaboration between Levine and Ryan Tedder (Adele, Beyoncé, One Direction), Benny Blanco (Katy Perry, Britney Spears) and Ammar Malik (Gym Class Heroes, Lady Antebellum, “Moves Like Jagger”).

That reggae influence also shows up on the “whoa-oh-ohs” of “Animals”: a lustful anthem driven by a booming, Soul II Soul-style hip-hop beat, “Animals”’ hooky chorus (“Baby, I’m preying on you tonight/Hunt you down, eat you alive/Just like animals”) evokes the otherworldly melodies of Miike Snow. As such, V also finds Maroon 5 returning to the dancefloor with standout track “Feelings,” whose disco-meets-Michael Jackson groove, 4/4 EDM thump, and Daft Punk-style vocoders suggests “Moves Like Jagger” on robot steroids. Meanwhile, it’s become a M5 tradition to feature a collaboration with an unexpected guest artist, with major talents like Wiz Khalifa (“Payphone”), Lady Antebellum (“Out of Goodbyes”), Rihanna (“If I Never See Your Face Again”) and Christina Aguilera (“Moves Like Jagger”) having done the honors on hits past. On that level, V does not disappoint, as “My Heart Is Open” features Levine performing a duet with none other than Gwen Stefani.

That’s not the only surprise on V, however. “My Heart Is Open” reveals Maroon 5 at its most emotionally raw and direct: it features Levine’s passionate romantic testifying (“I don’t need another lover/I want you”) over a spare, heart-tugging piano ballad, building to a soaring chorus with subtle orchestration. “Leaving California,” meanwhile, hearkens back to the classic M5 sound – the bittersweet yet catchy confessionals of heartbreak from Songs About Jane that propelled the band to fame in the first place. As such, V brings Maroon 5 full circle, moving strength to strength from the band’s vital beginnings to its ongoing rise – taking the listener down nostalgic and new paths alike to create the latest undeniable chapter in the M5 odyssey.

Maroon 5 All Music Guide BiographyA mix of polished pop/rock and neo-soul made Maroon 5 one of the most popular bands of the 2000s, with songs like "This Love," "She Will Be Loved,"and "Makes Me Wonder" all topping the charts worldwide. Previously, bandmates Adam Levine (vocals/guitar), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards), Mickey Madden (bass), and Ryan Dusick (drums) had spent the latter half of the '90s playing in Kara's Flowers, even releasing a debut album for Reprise Recordswhile still attending high school. The record tanked, however, and Kara's Flowersfound themselves dropped from Reprise's roster. After briefly attending college, the bandmates regrouped as Maroon 5, adding former Square guitarist James Valentine to the lineup and embracing a more R&B-influenced sound. Several years later, the quintet had officially risen to the forefront of pop music with Songs About Jane and It Won't Be Soon Before Long, both of which went multi-platinum.Songs About Jane propelled the band into the mainstream, but the album was not an immediate hit. Octone Records had signed the newly christened Maroon 5 in 2001, and the debut album Jane received a lukewarm response upon its release in June 2002. "Harder to Breathe" became a radio staple 17 months later and was soon followed by the omnipresent "This Love," whose steamy video (featuring frontman Levine and a barely clothed girlfriend) wooed the TV-watching crowds at MTV. Songs About Jane finally entered the Billboard Top Ten in August 2004, more than two years after the album's release, and follow-up singles like "She Will Be Loved" and "Sunday Morning" helped the album move over 2.7 million copies by year's end. Maroon 5 toured exhaustively in support of Jane's slow-burning success, issuing two stopgap recordings -- 2004's1.22.03.Acoustic and 2005's Live Friday the 13th -- while traveling the world alongside groups like the Rolling Stones and John Mayer. Their schedule was especially trying on percussionist Dusick, who sustained wrist and shoulder injuries and was often unable to play. By fall 2006, Dusick had been officially replaced by Matt Flynn (the former drummer for Gavin DeGraw), and the revised band released its sophomore effort in May 2007. It Won't Be Soon Before Longproved to be less popular than its predecessor (which had sold more than four million copies in the U.S. alone), but it still enjoyed double-platinum certification while spinning off the chart-topping single "Makes Me Wonder." Maroon 5 had cemented their status as pop/rock heavyweights, and they now had the connections to prove it. Released in late 2008, Call and Response: The Remix Album reinterpreted the band's catalog with remixes by influential producers likeMary J. Blige, Mark Ronson, and Pharrell Williams. Meanwhile, the band worked with a different producer -- veteran rock/country architect Robert John "Mutt" Lange -- on a third studio album, Hands All Over, which was released in September 2010. The following year, Levine appeared as a judge on the NBC reality television talent competition The Voice. That same year, Hands All Overwas re-released with the single "Moves Like Jagger," featuring Levine's The Voice co-judge Christina Aguilera. In 2012, Carmichael revealed that he was taking time off from performing with Maroon 5 and would be replaced by touring keyboardist PJ Morton. Also in 2012, the band released its fourth studio album,Overexposed. Featuring production from a bevy of name producers includingRyan Tedder, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, and more, the album included the leadoff single "Payphone." ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi